


kidnapping

by killerqueenwrites



Series: i will always hold you close (irondad bingo) [14]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Emotionally Mature Communication, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Kidnapping, Protective Tony Stark, Restraints, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Whump, because that's how we solve the accords, peter and steve get bonding time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28736535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerqueenwrites/pseuds/killerqueenwrites
Summary: Steve wakes up cuffed to a chair, which is kind of annoying considering he has a meeting today.He’s just coming to the conclusion that he really might be in trouble when he notices the kid across from him.or Steve and Peter get some bonding time, and Tony is freaking out.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Steve Rogers, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Series: i will always hold you close (irondad bingo) [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2016994
Comments: 30
Kudos: 504





	kidnapping

**Author's Note:**

> for the person who wanted barbed wire whump. you know who you are
> 
> warnings for blood, violence and barbed wire

Steve wakes up cuffed to a chair, which is kind of annoying considering he has a meeting today. 

The cuffs don’t break the first time he pulls, or the second, and he’s just coming to the conclusion that he really might be in trouble when he notices the kid across from him.

A kid. He’s so out of place in this dark basement that it’s almost comical. “Hi.”

“…hello.”

Jesus Christ. This morning, Steve was getting ready to meet with the Accords Committee – to see Tony for the first time in months – and now he’s tied up in a damp cell with a kid.

The kid in question doesn’t look afraid; no, he seems to be at the same level of mildly inconvenienced that Steve feels. He’s twisting his wrists behind his back, pulling on his own cuffs.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Steve says. “If I can’t break it, there’s no way you can.”

“Never hurts to try,” the kid mutters. Something about his voice sounds familiar. “So, uh, what you in for?”

Steve raises his eyebrows. “I’m an international fugitive.”

“Not for much longer. And this doesn’t exactly seem above board, you know?”

Steve flexes his wrists, winces in agreement.

Footsteps rush towards their room, and the kid tenses like he can hear them, but surely not, not like Steve can. The door flies open and hits the wall with a crash.

“Hey, kid!” one of the men says brightly. “You’ll never guess what we just found in your backpack.”

The kids tilts his head, the picture of innocence. “My textbooks?”

“Nah, the other thing.”

“Aw, man. Look, guys, this is super embarrassing, but…I’m a cosplayer. I wish you didn’t have to find out like this. I am pretty good, though, like, people often say my costume is so accurate it’s scary. Why’re you going through my stuff, anyway–?”

The same man lifts his arm, hand clasping a little device, and shoots a stream of white gunk at the wall. “Yeah. Accurate.”

For the first time, the kid looks afraid.

“I gotta say, it’s funny that we grabbed Stark’s intern and he just happens to have a Spidey suit in his bag. Funny, right, boys?” He steps closer to the kid. “Hell of a coincidence.”

“You know Tony?” Steve interjects. Of course; the planned pardons haven’t been announced publicly yet, and this kid somehow knew about them.

“Intern,” the kid offers weakly.

“You’re twelve.”

“I’m fifteen, asshole.”

There it is. His accent slips fully, clearly Queens. Couple that with the suit, and these guys are on to something.

And Tony knew.

“Y’know, I think our boss will be very interested to hear about this,” the same man says. “Don’t go anywhere, you two.”

Steve waits until they’re gone, watching as the kid hangs his head. “Queens?”

“Shit,” Queens mutters, then, “Brooklyn.”

“You’re Spider-Man? You were in Germany!” Steve sucks in a breath. “You’re a kid! I could’ve killed you. Tony – did he know?”

“Don’t start,” Queens says, surprisingly fierce. “Without Mr Stark, I’d be toast, like, so many times over. Rhodey already gave him hell for it – and I was doing it before I ever met him, so just…don’t. Okay?”

Steve nods. “You know Rhodes?”

“Yeah.” Still wary.

“How’s he doing?”

Queens softens, just a little. “Good. Mr Stark made these braces that help him walk, and we figured out a way to fit it into his suit. He’s pretty much back to normal.”

“That’s good. Real good. Did you say you helped Tony with the suit? As in, down in his lab where no one is allowed ever?”

“Oh. Yeah.” Queens cracks a smile. “I am actually his intern. Just for both Tony Stark and Iron Man, I guess.”

“Like a sidekick?”

“You sound just like him,” the kid groans.

“Do I?” That’s the last thing Steve expected anyone to say. Maybe he and Tony did rub off on one another. Speaking of Tony, “I’m supposed to be there now. The meeting, I mean.”

“Me too,” Queens says.

“Right. Spider-Man.”

“Maybe – do you think that’s what they want? To stop the signing?”

“Smart kid, isn’t he?”

Steve jumps; he hadn’t heard them coming this time.

“You can see why Stark keeps him around.” It’s the same man as before – presumably the leader. “But you’re right, kid. It’s suspicious, isn’t it, that Stark’s favourite intern – who’s Spider-Man, but he can’t tell anyone that – is missing, and so is Captain America. There’s been such a breakdown of trust between the two sides of the Avengers, he might even accuse Cap of kidnapping him. Could you imagine?”

Steve scowls. 

“The talks would implode completely. No Accords. No pardons. Unfortunately, Stark hasn’t quite gone nuclear yet, so you better get comfy.”

Would Tony think that? Does he hate Steve that much? He has good reason to, but does he really believe Steve’s capable of kidnapping a child? Would he punish the rest of the team for it?

“Now, since you’re going to be staying with us a little while longer…” The leader holds up a roll of barbed wire in his gloved hands. “Just gotta make extra sure you don’t try and go anywhere.”

“Whoa, man,” Queens says. “We already can’t get out of these. No need for – whatever that is.”

“Oh, I know. I was lying.” The leader smirks. “I just want it to hurt.”

“Or you could just let us go,” Steve says, jumping in before the kid can. “Easiest option.”

“Nah. Sorry. The signing of the new Accords has already been postponed, because how can they do it without the poster boy for the Avengers? And Tony Stark is nowhere to be seen – rumour has it, the police have been called in on a missing person, a minor. Spider-Man’s a no-show, too. Seems like this signing might just collapse altogether.” The leader smiles at Queens. “Mostly thanks to you, kid. You really made it a two birds, one stone kinda deal.”

“Go fuck yourself,” Queens spits, and Steve’s eyebrows shoot up even as he tries to stifle a laugh. 

The leader moves closer, slow, deliberate, and lifts the coil of wire until it’s inches from the kid’s face. “Don’t make me gag you with this.”

Queens swallows, his breathing speeding up. 

“What do you say?”

“Sorry.”

“Sorry what?”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“Aww,” the leader coos mockingly, “he can be trained just fine.” He tosses the wire to another man and ruffles the kid’s hair, a little too hard to be playful. “Try not to struggle too much, yeah? Don’t want my friend here to accidentally nick something important.”

The second man unravels a length of wire and begins to wrap it around Queens’ wrists, pulling it as tight as he can. Steve winces when he sees droplets of blood welling up.

“Hey, Queens,” he says, “don’t think about it, okay? Just listen to my voice. It’s gonna be okay.”

Queens is biting his lip so hard Steve’s afraid he’ll break the skin. His fists are clenched, tears are pooling in his eyes, but still he doesn’t make a sound, not even when the man gives his new restraints a harsh yank, not when they tie off the ends of the wire and move to his ankles instead.

“Finally got the chatterbox to shut up, huh?” The leader turns to Steve. “Keep it quiet, or you’re next.”

Dark spots are growing on the kid’s jeans where the wire is digging in. Blood is dripping from the end of one of his fingers. He tries to to move his wrists, jerky, clearly panicking.

“Kid, you gotta stop moving,” Steve says, half frantic. He remembers at least some of Sam’s first aid lessons – there are major veins in the wrist, he thinks. Or is it arteries? “It’s only gonna cut deeper.”

“What a way for Spider-Man to go, hey?” The leader grabs Queens’ jaw, forcing his head from side to side. “Imagine Stark found you like that, all bled out, because you were just too weak to escape.”

“He’s gonna find me,” Queens says through gritted teeth.

“He has no idea where you are, kid. Wouldn’t he be here already if he did?” The leader pats Queens on the cheek. “Don’t go anywhere.” 

* * *

Steve’s stomach rumbles. It’s been doing that for hours now. Queens grimaces in sympathy, and his stomach growls, too.

“Fast metabolism?” Steve says. “Speedy healing?”

“Yeah.” Blood is still dripping steadily down the kid’s wrists, forming a small puddle on the floor behind his chair. If Steve had to guess, the combination of not having enough energy to help his healing factor and the fact he keeps rolling and shifting his wrists has something to do with it.

“How long has it been?”

Queens shrugs. “I was on my way to school when they grabbed me. You were here when I woke up. Other than that, I have no idea. Feels like nighttime, though.”

“I think we missed our meeting,” Steve says with a rueful grin.

Queens grimaces. “Probably.”

“Did, um…?” Steve clears his throat. “Does Tony ever talk about what, what happened?”

“Like Siberia?”

_Yikes_. “So he does.”

“Not really. He doesn’t like bringing it up. I kinda…pieced it together.” Queens tries to shift in his seat again, but winces. “Shit. He knows – he knows there’s more to work out than just the Accords. But he’s willing to talk about it. If you are.”

“Of course. But kid, seriously, stop. You’re hurting yourself.”

“It hurts either way. Just – trying to find what hurts the least.” Queens bites his lip.

“Sorry. I’m not normally so useless.”

“Me neither. Pain in the ass, really.” Another wince, another trickle of blood. His jeans are dark with damp spots. “If they have my backpack and my suit, Mr Stark can track it. He’ll find us.”

Steve’s stomach growls again.

* * *

Queens nods off eventually, chin resting on his chest, and Steve hopes the sleep helps his healing. He doesn’t let his eyes close; instead, he sits and thinks.

It must be getting on for eighteen hours now, and there’s been no ransom demand, no threats, nothing that leans towards this being a normal kidnapping. At least they’re not being used as leverage. Yet.

Whoever’s taken them, or at least orchestrated it, has to want more than simply throwing a grenade at the Avengers and letting the chaos cause itself. They want the team thoroughly broken, no hope of reconciling. They want the new Accords to collapse without agreement. They want Tony to believe that Steve would kidnap a child.

And he has no idea if it’s working. The men haven’t come back in. All he has to look at is four damp walls and a kid cuffed to a chair. At least his wrists seem to have stopped bleeding.

The kid was strong when Steve fought him, strong enough to knock him off his feet, to catch Bucky’s fist, to hold up the gangway. Yet neither of them could get out of the cuffs or their chairs, which adds another fact to Steve’s mental checklist: whoever took them has access to vibranium, and a lot of it. Well-connected, or just rich? He can’t say. 

Eighteen hours, and still no team. No Tony. No way to get out of this themselves short of dislocating every wrist and ankle between them, and that still won’t help the kid out of the barbed wire.

What kind of sadistic bastards are they dealing with here?

Footsteps. Voices. They’re faint. He strains to listen.

“…how are our guests doing?”

“The kid got a little mouthy, but we dealt with it.”

“From what I know about Spider-Man and the company Stark likes to keep, that’s no surprise.” A pause. “Stark is frantic, but he’s joined forces with that Russian bitch. We may have to move them.”

Tony’s looking for them. He has Natasha. The team hasn’t fallen apart. 

“Of course.”

“And this is a rapidly changing situation. Be ready for new instructions. They might be useful as leverage, after all.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What exactly did you do to the kid?”

“Nothing permanent. He’ll have learned his lesson, though.”

Their footsteps move away, the voices fading with them. Steve sighs.

* * *

“Mr – Captain? Mr America! Wake up.”

“Hm?”

“Wake up, they’re coming.”

Steve jolts in his chair, panicking for a second when he can’t move his limbs, before remembering where he is. Queens is staring at the door, his expression frantic.

“Something bad is gonna happen.”

“I heard them talking during the night,” Steve says. “They were thinking of moving us.”

The kid glances at him, frowns. “Why?”

“Apparently, Nat and Tony are getting a bit too close for comfort.”

His expression breaks into a relieved smile. “Knew it.”

The sound of the door being thrown open is familiar now, as is the leader’s scowl.

“You look a little stuck there, Spidey.”

Queens actually looks like he’s barely refraining from rolling his eyes. “Should’ve gone with caught in a web. Really. It was right there.”

“I don’t like your smart mouth.” The leader reaches out, grabs the kid’s jaw hard enough to squash his cheeks. “If we didn’t need you…”

“But you do,” Steve interjects, “or you wouldn’t have grabbed him in the first place. You need a way to put pressure on Tony. He won’t give a damn about me.”

“Unfortunately, you’re right.” 

Queens jerks his head free and sets his jaw, juts his chin out, defiance burning in his eyes.

“We have more than just barbed wire, kid, and the second you’ve outlived your usefulness, you’re gonna know about it. The boss has been looking forward to meeting you.”

They’re not going to let the kid go, Steve realises, and his stomach sinks. Whether to use him as leverage for Tony down the line, or for another reason entirely, they have every intention of keeping him. 

“Still,” the leader continues, “no reason we can’t have a little fun.”

Steve frowns, then realises what they mean. He yells, “No–!” pulling hard against the cuffs, but they’ve already thrown the first punch.

* * *

“Queens.”

It’s all Steve’s been saying for what feels like hours.

“Queens, come on.”

The kid is drifting. He’s not quite unconscious, but his eyes are empty. The blood – rivulets trickling down his forehead, his cheek, his hands. The wire is digging in again, and this time, the wounds aren’t healing. It’s been too long since either of them had food.

“Spider-Man,” Steve says sharply, “focus up. It’s kinda boring here without you. I need my kidnapping buddy.”

“Don’ wanna be kidnapped.”

“It’s a little late, kid, sorry.”

Queens groans, but he’s there, he’s present. “They really hate Spider-Man, huh?”

“Or they’re just dicks.”

The kid wheezes out a laugh.

“Try and breathe deeply,” Steve says. “Keep your lungs clear. Go slow – they might have cracked ribs.”

“Ugh.”

“I know. You’re doing great, Queens.”

“Peter,” the kid mumbles.

“What?”

“My name’s Peter. Parker.”

“Steve Rogers.” 

“Mm.” The kid – Peter – looks down again. Blood drips from the ends of his fingers. “‘S’been at least a day now, hasn’t it?”

Steve sighs. “Probably.”

It’s taking longer than he hoped it would. It must be nearly afternoon, and if they were kidnapped in the morning…

He needs to stop counting, but he’s acutely aware of the seconds ticking by, the hours passing. They need food and water. They need to get the hell out of here.

“How about you rest?” Steve says. “Neither of us can do anything.” God, he hates being so useless. He’s Captain America 

(not anymore, his mind whispers)

he’s supposed to protect people, and although the kid can usually take care of himself just as well as Steve, right now, they’re both stuck.

“I want to go home,” Peter whispers, the first crack in his facade, and shit, he might be Spider-Man but he’s still just a kid. A scared kid.

“Hey,” Steve says gently, “if I know one thing, it’s that nothing can stop a determined Tony Stark when people he cares about are in danger. And with Romanoff helping him – well, these guys better watch out.” He smiles, and Peter smiles back, only a little tremulously. 

“I hope it’s soon.”

“Yeah, kid, me too.”

* * *

_Thump._

Steve jumps. The kid doesn’t move.

_Thud._ A scream, abruptly cut off.

“Queens.”

Peter blinks, squints, before jumping at another loud crash. “Uh…”

The door flies open with such force it comes loose of its hinges and hangs there. Iron Man steps through the gap.

The last time Steve saw Tony, they were fighting to injure, not to kill, but still ferocious, angry, hurt. And yet, Steve’s never been so happy to see anyone in all his life. 

“Peter,” Tony breathes, and his suit opens, he stumbles out, “Peter.” 

“Mr Stark,” Peter says, barely a whimper, and Tony clasps his face like he’s the most precious thing, pushes his hair back, swipes a trail of blood off his cheek with his thumb. 

“Let’s get you out of this, huh?”

“Tony–“ Steve starts. Too late. 

“What the fuck?” Tony hisses, and pulls his hand back sharply. “Jesus.”

“The cuffs are vibranium,” Peter says, “but you can probably cut the wire.”

“Okay. Shit. Rogers?”

And just like that, for the first time in months, Tony is talking to him. “Uh, just cuffed here. The chair frame is reinforced, too.”

“Okay.” Tony ghosts a hand over Peter’s cheek and climbs back into the suit, letting it close around him but leaving his head in the open. “Fri, we’re gonna need to be delicate with this. And tell the others I need some handcuff keys.” He’s on the verge of panic, but he’s holding it together so far.

He’s holding it together for the kid.

“All right, buddy, hold still.”

“Someone asked for keys?” a new voice says.

“Damn, Romanoff, take your time.” Tony doesn’t look up from Peter’s wrists, some instrument in his gauntlet carefully cutting away the wire.

Natasha shrugs and saunters over to Steve. “If you ask me, Rogers, I can’t emphasise enough how funny it is that you spent weeks telling us not to miss this meeting, only to go and miss it yourself.”

“Good thing I didn’t ask you, then,” Steve says, and sighs in relief when his wrists are free, rolls his stiff shoulders.

Peter lets out an aborted yelp, biting his lip, and Steve’s attention jumps to him.

“Sorry,” Tony murmurs, “sorry, kid. It’s – you haven’t healed around it, so the best thing is to get the barbs out–“

“No, you’re good,” Peter says. “Just get it off me, please.” 

“You wanna get up?” Natasha says.

Steve thinks he does, but he blinks and he’s on the floor, Tony and Natasha’s concerned faces hovering above him. “Dammit.”

“Head rush,” Tony says. “Stay down.”

“Get back to the kid.” Steve waves a clumsy hand.

“How much did they feed you?”

“Uh, nothing.”

“Shit.” Tony disappears.

“It’s been thirty-six hours,” Natasha says. “Water? Bathroom breaks?”

“Just the chair. Kid got the bonus barbed wire.”

“Oh, yeah, all the perks.” She helps him sit up, then slowly to his feet.

Tony already has the kid out, but he’s skipped letting him stand entirely and just scooped him into his arms. Peter looks a little put out about it, but he has one arm looped around Tony’s neck and he isn’t protesting.

“Queens,” Steve says, “nice to see you out of the chair.”

“Hey, you too.”

He doesn’t miss the way Tony’s face tightens. “Great. You had some captivity bonding. Cute.”

“Tony–“

“Let’s split, Underoos.”

“Tony, they know. That’s how – they found his suit. That’s how I know.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Natasha says, in that voice where what she really means _they won’t be a problem anymore._

Peter shakes his head. “They talked about a boss. They were working for someone.”

“Someone with influence,” Steve agrees, “and money, and the balls to pull this off. Someone who doesn’t want the new Accords signed – son of a bitch.”

Tony meets his eyes, clearly having exactly the same thought: bemusement, followed by disbelief, and then incandescent rage. “Son of a bitch.”

“You guys are having the same brain-sentence,” Peter slurs, and the moment passes.

“Okay, yeah, we’re getting you to a hospital.” Tony adjusts his grip and strides out of the basement cell, leaving Steve and Natasha to follow.

* * *

Steve only has to suffer through having an IV for a few hours before they clear him to leave the Medbay – he’s back in the Compound after so many months, and he almost can’t believe it – but he doesn’t go very far. Just to the room next door. Or, more accurately, just outside it.

“Just go in,” Sam says. “I can’t handle you hovering, man.”

“I don’t know, it’s…”

“Complicated? Yeah, tell me about it.”

“Tony seems kinda protective of the kid. It’s – I don’t know.”

“Kinda,” Sam agrees. “According to Rhodey, _kinda_ is an understatement.”

“You’ve seen Rhodey?”

“He’s in there now. So’s Stark, and – I think – the kid’s aunt, and the grumpy bodyguard. Pepper even shows up every so often.” Sam claps him on the arm as he turns to walk away. “Glad you’re okay. It wasn’t a fun couple of days. Mostly because Stark was flipping his shit the whole time.”

“He cares about the kid.”

“He was worried about you, too. Don’t let him tell you otherwise.”

Steve half-smiles and knocks. 

“Come in,” Rhodey’s voice calls, so he pushes open the door.

Peter is sitting up in bed, bandages up to his elbows, face covered in fading cuts and bruises, with Tony in a chair on one side and a woman with long brown hair on the other. She peers at him through her glasses before saying, “Hello, Steve from Brooklyn,” with a dangerous smile.

“Um…” Steve clears his throat. “Hi. Steve Rogers.”

“We had no idea, thank you,” Tony says drily.

“Mr Stark, don’t be mean,” Peter says. “He’s my kidnapping buddy.”

“Never say those words in my presence again. I have a–“

“Heart condition,” Peter finishes.

“Oh, so you do listen? In that vein, what have I told you about pissing off the guys who have you tied to a chair?”

“You know, I don’t actually recall that conversation, but it was probably something like ‘don’t do it’.”

“I’d say that’s a pretty safe bet, kiddo,” the woman says with a grin.

“Hi, Queens.” Steve looks down, shuffles his feet. He feels – out of place. He doesn’t fit in this happy scene. “Uh, I just wanted to see how you were doing. I’ll get out of your way.” He turns.

“Steve.” Tony gestures with his head to an empty chair. “Stay for a minute.”

“I don’t want to – if you want to keep it professional from now on–“

“Sit your ass down.”

“Okay.”

Rhodey coughs into his hand, very obviously hiding a laugh.

“Pete said you heard them talking when he was asleep. Anything that points to the guy in charge?”

“Well, he wasn’t a fan of you. Or Nat. He told the leader to get ready to move us, and possibly use us against you. I couldn’t place his voice, though. Sorry.”

Tony sighs.

“If you’re right,” Rhodey says, “you’ll need proof. It’s not that I don’t believe you, but you can’t just go after one of the highest offices in the government without hard evidence, especially when you have history with him.”

Tony rubs the bridge of his nose. “And if he knows about Peter, our lives just got way more difficult. We’re hunkering down until we can get those new documents signed, first of all.”

“Seconded,” the woman says.

“But–“

“You can have your school work emailed for a few days,” Tony says. “We’ll say you had a car accident.”

“We’ve used that one,” Hogan says. 

“Dammit. You might just have to have a bad cold, kid. Everything will clear up in a few days.”

Peter nods. 

“Does this – happen often?” Steve asks tentatively.

“Sometimes I do get kidnapped,” Peter says. Tony's jaw tightens. “Sometimes I get hurt by myself. May says I’m a danger magnet.”

“And I’m right,” the woman says, but she takes one of Peter’s hands.

“You know,” Tony says, “that pizza we ordered must be nearly here.”

“I can get it, Boss–“

“Steve, come help me.”

“Um…” Steve glances up, sees Hogan with his mouth half-open, Rhodes giving him a deliberate look. “Yeah, okay.” 

They leave the room together, silent, walking side by side with their gazes firmly forward.

“We–“

“Tony, I–“

Tony snorts. 

“You first,” Steve offers.

“I was going to say, we…we need to work together on this, Steve.” They reach the elevator and the doors open without a sound. “This is – we need to put up a united front. Code red, okay? Defcon one. If Ross gets the upper hand on us – with the kid–“ He breaks off.

“I understand.”

“So what happened – we need to fucking talk it out, deal with it.” Tony’s movements get a little jerky, a little panicked. “I will kiss your ass for the rest of time, I don’t give a shit, just – not the kid, Steve, okay? Not him.”

“Of course,” Steve says. “I was going to say I’m sorry, Tony.”

“Me too.” Tony sniffs and leaves the elevator the second the doors open again. “I should’ve listened–“

“Well, so should I–“

“If we’d both listened–“

“Uhh, I got seven large pizzas?”

They both stop, whipping their heads around to face the delivery man, who wilts under their gaze.

“Already paid for,” he squeaks.

“Ah, yes. Thank you.” Tony fishes in his pockets and pulls out a note. “Share that around with everyone. I’ll take those. Thanks for coming all the way out here.”

The man hands the pizzas to Tony, who hands them to Steve, and takes the money. His eyes fly wide, and he turns and scurries away.

“Seven?” Steve asks. “Large?”

“Kid with a super metabolism,” Tony reminds him. FRIDAY had kept the elevator doors open and they both slip inside. “Healing to do. How’s Robocop, by the way?”

Steve takes it for the olive branch it is. “Good. Princess Shuri says she’s making good progress getting HYDRA out of his head. She’s less sure about his memories – they might just have to come back on their own.”

Tony nods thoughtfully. “Get her to send her files over – the observations, mostly – and I’ll see if we can start working on some special dispensation for him. Prisoner of war allowances.”

“You’d do that?” Steve says quietly. He tries to focus on the bottom pizza box warming his hands rather than the memory of the last time they’d all been in the same room together. 

Tony shoots him a sideways glance. “It’s going to be hard, Steve, okay? Most likely, they’ll want him somewhere they feel they have control. You know, like here. So _yes_ , it’s going to be fucking difficult, but I will do it because we all need to be on the same page, and he was a pretty big reason the last book got burned.” He shrugs. “I still have the Tower in the city. Nearly sold it, but there was a thing with the kid – couple of things, actually. He needs backup sometimes. Anyway – I can go there, if I need to.”

Once again, the elevator opens and they step out together, heading back towards Peter’s room.

“What was it like? Here? All I did was sit in a chair and let the kid get hurt.”

“It was…” Tony huffs in cold amusement. “A slow start. Meeting wasn’t supposed to be until the afternoon, so you not being here wasn’t, uh, throwing up any flags. Except Natasha was adamant that you were going to show up, and I might not have felt like trusting or liking you very much at that point, but I trusted _her_. And then we found out Pete never made it to school and – yeah. Panic stations.”

“Sorry.”

“Not your fault.”

“We’ll deal with Ross,” Steve says. “He won’t get away with this.”

“I know we will. Together.”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on tumblr at [akillerqueenwrites](https://akillerqueenwrites.tumblr.com), or my main blog [akillerqueenyouare](https://akillerqueenyouare.tumblr.com). come say hi, ask questions, leave prompts or just yell at me. i've also made a twitter, [@killerqueenao3](https://twitter.com/killerqueenao3) , if any of you want to talk to me there (it's mostly pictures of my dog). thank you for reading!


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